


A Stranger is a Stranger Until They Aren't

by GabzJones



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Minor Injuries, Romance, Skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 20:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18677053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabzJones/pseuds/GabzJones
Summary: Yuuko’s home was always the ice. It was found in step sequences and dances. But a skating accident teaches her that home can be found in more than ice. She learns that home can be found in a friend.Written for Okaeri Zine.





	A Stranger is a Stranger Until They Aren't

**Author's Note:**

> We can finally post these! This was a real challenge for me. I wanted to write something from Yuuko's perspective and explore her life before we met her in the series. This is the story of how she found a home beyond the ice.

It started with a spin. Yuuko’s eyes remained closed as she moved along the ice, her steps careful and delicate as she shifted into the flying camel spin. The routine had been prepared long ago; something daring, something she hadn’t been able to perfect in her months of training. But it didn’t matter. She’d never stopped going through the motions of the program, never stopped attempting to flawlessly complete it.

At eighteen, Yuuko wasn’t a certified skater, but she still attempted local competitions. She still wanted to be the best, to inspire people in the same way Victor Nikiforov had inspired her. Skating with little Yuuri had only driven that desire home, having someone to share her love of the ice with, the desire to show the world how enchanting dancing on those blades could be. Seeing Yuuri succeed, seeing him travel the world for junior competitions was an inspiration. Yuuko longed to be able to skate like that.

Letting out a breath, Yuuko shifted her weight as she landed a double axel. Her form was fine, but Yuuko knew it could be better. She’d have to go through the routine again. She’d have to work on her footing. But the rest of the program came first. The next part was a step sequence, an element she had more success in than any of the others. They were always her favourite part of the performance, a moment to feel the music and become one with it. Step sequences felt as natural as breathing. Moving around the ice, Yuuko did what she knew best; she danced.

The ice had always felt like home. A place where she could belong in a world that had a tendency to be cruel. The ice brought her friends, excitement, challenges. It was where she always wanted to be. Yuuko wanted desperately to train and perfect, to one day be able to join Yuuri in his travels around the world, skating against the best of the best. To meet Victor Nikiforov and thank him for inspiring her.

Yuuko moved out of her step sequence, preparing herself for the next jump. A triple lutz. The entrance was sound, but she hadn’t managed to get enough height in the jump, landing in a heap in the middle of the ice with a loud thud. Yuuko groaned in a mix of pain and frustration. Still not good enough. She still couldn’t perfect this program.

“Yuuko! Are you okay?”

Yuuko didn’t bother looking up, recognising that voice immediately. Takeshi. He had been watching her skating ever since they were kids, trying to look out for her even when she didn’t want to be looked after. She didn’t need anyone. She had the ice, and though it could be cold and unforgiving, it gave her all the rewards she could ever want. She didn’t need Takeshi. She didn’t need anyone.

“I’m fine.” Yuuko gritted her teeth as she pulled herself back to her feet. Takeshi was at the barrier, watching with concern in his eyes as she moved back to her starting position.

“Don’t you think you’ve been training long enough?”

“Just one more run through.” She knew what he’d say. The same thing he always said. And maybe she would have agreed, but she was frustrated. She just wanted to get this right. Just one time.

“You’re gonna get hurt if you don’t give yourself a break.” There was no judgment in his voice. No expectations. He just wanted to take care of her. “You can train more tomorrow.”

“One more.” Yuuko offered him a reassuring smile, “Please?”

Takeshi had never been able to say no to her before, and he wasn’t about to start now. She knew that already. With a defeated sigh, he hung his head, gesturing to the ice, “Fine. One more.”

Victor would be able to do this. Yuuri would be able to do this. She wanted to make them proud, to make everyone proud. This was more than a sport, more than competitions. It was her life, the place that brought her happiness. It didn’t matter what the program was. It didn’t matter where she placed in a competition. The only thing she cared about was performing well, sharing her love for the ice with everyone who watched her, and being able to show them with her performances just how important the ice was, how special it was.

Going through the motions of the routine felt natural, but there was a nervous feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She could easily make a mistake again, mess up the routine with the smallest of moves. But she wanted so badly to get this right. Just to know that she could, that this was possible for her. Even if she never did it again, knowing that it was possible would be enough.

Yuuko’s mind was so focused on thoughts of success, on her fears of failure, that she hadn’t been paying attention to her double axel this time around. The landing was all wrong, her weight too focused on her ankle and she came crashing down to the cold ice as searing pain burned into her leg. She would’ve cried out with the pain, but shock stopped her. It hurt. It hurt so much, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She was stuck there in the middle of the ice. It felt like tiny daggers were stabbing at her ankle constantly, the pain ever present. She couldn’t move, so instead, Yuuko stayed right there on the ice, staring at the ceiling as thoughts of failure continued to rush her mind.

“Yuuko!” Takeshi was at her side seconds later, sitting on the ice beside her, “Are you okay? Can you stand up?”

There was panic in his voice, a sound Yuuko had never heard from him before. She’d never intended to make him worry about her, but it seemed like that was all he ever did. Takeshi always watched her skate, always told her to give herself a break, and always came running to her rescue when things went wrong. Yuuko didn’t know why. He was the best friend she’d ever had, and she didn’t deserve him. Not after all the trouble she’d caused for him over the years with her stubbornness.

Yuuko pushed herself up just enough to sit on the ice, staring down at her leg. The pain was subsiding, a warmth tingling her skin. Maybe it was nothing more than a fluke. Maybe she’d just sprained it and it would be fine. She shifted her leg, testing the waters and suddenly the pain swept up and through her body like a tidal wave. Yuuko screamed, reaching out for Takeshi like a lifeline. Because that’s what he was for her. What he’d always been for her.

He took her hand, squeezing reassuringly, “Okay… okay…” Takeshi worried his lip between his teeth as he stared at Yuuko’s battered ankle, “I’m gonna pick you up, okay?”

“No.” Yuuko whimpered. The very thought of so much movement made her stomach churn. “No, it’s gonna hurt.”

“Hey, listen to me.” Takeshi moved closer, cupping Yuuko’s face in his hand as he stared into her eyes, determination shining in his own, “You’re the strongest person I know. You can do this. You just have to trust me.”

Staring back into those eyes, Yuuko felt… safe. Protected. She knew that no matter what happened, Takeshi was going to look after her, that he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her. She just had to trust him, and that felt like the easiest thing in the world. How could she not trust him, the one person who had never left her side?

There were tears in Yuuko’s eyes, but she smiled, the reassuring smile she always offered Takeshi when she wanted to make him feel better, even if she felt like the world was falling apart. The worst part was letting go of his hand. He didn’t move away from her, but suddenly, she felt like her world might just fall apart without him, that the ice would shatter beneath her and swallow her whole. For the first time in her life, the ice didn’t feel like home anymore.

Takeshi did.

Yuuko could find solace in the fact that Takeshi seemed to be just as reluctant to let go of her. But eventually, he was on his feet beside her, shifting closer on his skates as he leaned down to pick her up. He was hesitant, and it was obvious why. Takeshi didn’t want to hurt her. Yuuko knew he didn’t. But the only way to get her help would be to lift her, to hurt her. Maybe the pain would be brief, temporary.

Finally, he bit the bullet, an arm looping under her knees as another supported her shoulders. He pulled her into his arms, and immediately the suffering was back, stabbing at her skin, sending pain like bolts of lightning up her leg. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Yuuko whimpered, a strangled cry leaving her lips before she could stop it. Her arms wrapped tightly around Takeshi’s neck, gripping to him like her very life depended on it as she buried her face in his neck.

Takeshi moved as quickly as he could without causing her more pain, voice gentle as he reassured her over and over, “It’s gonna be okay. You’ll be fine, I’ve got you.”

* * *

 

Hospitals were supposed to be good for you. A place of healing. A place for the sick to get better. Yuuko had never liked hospitals. They were too clinical. They smelt of chemicals, and as much as it was a place to heal, it was also a place filled with death. Hospitals weren’t comforting. They felt like a world outside reality, a pitstop between living and dying. It was far too close to things she didn’t want to think about.

But there was no avoiding it. Yuuko had broken her ankle, and that meant a hospital trip. It wasn’t all bad. Her doctor was a nice older gentleman who told terrible jokes to make her feel better. Yuuko didn’t like hospitals, but she did love a really awful joke. He had prescribed her a painkiller. The warm tingling she had felt when she was simply sitting still on the ice was back. She couldn’t move her foot, but that by design. The cast that had been wrapped around her foot and up her leg was there to keep her from moving it too much, to let it heal.

When she looked at it, all she saw was a ball and chain. Something that would keep her from the ice, something that would put back her progress on that routine. Who knew how long it would take for her to get back on the ice? There was a chance she’d miss her next competition. All because she’d been too stubborn and wanted to go over the routine just one more time. Takeshi had every right to call her out on her nonsense, to tell her that she had been an idiot. Yuuko already felt stupid. All of this was her fault.

There was a knock at the door of her room, the first sound Yuuko had been able to ground herself with over the sea of chatter outside. Glancing over, she saw her best friend in the doorway, a tight smile on his face. Takeshi was worrying again. He was always worrying about her. Yuuko couldn’t keep doing this to him.

“Hey.” She smiled, gesturing for him to come inside, “My knight in shining armour’s come to check on me?”

Takeshi’s smile was hesitant at best as he slowly stepped into the room, uncertainty clear in his movements, “You feeling any better?”

“They’ve got me on pain meds, so I can’t complain.” Yuuko shrugged, “Look, I’m sorry, Takeshi.”

He frowned, watching her curiously. Like none of this made any sense to him. Yuuko could relate to that. Life had been a little more crazy than usual. What she did know was that she’d been making Takeshi’s life more difficult. She’d been so focused on being the best, on doing everything she could to perfect herself, she hadn’t been taking any care. Instead, Takeshi had been looking after her, telling her to stop when she was overexerting herself, reminding her to eat when she was too focused on other things. She didn’t know why. Takeshi had been right by her side all this time, and he had no reason to be. Everything she’d been doing had been pushing him away, telling him to back off and that she knew what was best even when she didn’t. It was only now, now that something bad had happened that Yuuko realised how terrible she’d been. But there he was. Still there. Still taking care of her.

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Takeshi pulled up a chair beside her bed, sitting next to her, “I just want you to be okay. Seeing you hurt… I can’t bear that.”

“You’ve been so nice to me. I don’t deserve any of it.” Yuuko averted her gaze, looking down at her hands as she wrung her fingers together nervously.

“Sure you do.” He reached out, taking her hand and gently squeezing, “I suck at this stuff, but you’re the most important person to me. I’ll be right here every day to take care of you.”

There’s an evolution to relationships. A stranger is just a stranger, someone who means absolutely nothing to you. Sure, there might be the occasional person you’ll see who looks pretty, and you make note of it to yourself, but once that person is gone, once you’ve continued with your life, their face goes with them, something entirely meaningless in your life. The world is filled with people who pass by us every single day and don’t exist to us. They’re set pieces. Background. White noise.

You meet someone at a party and you spend a lot of time at that party in that person’s company. They’re nice, they’re funny, and you tell yourself you’re going to see this person again, that you’re going to be friends beyond the haze of alcohol and loud music. And then you’re home the next day, sober and barely remembering their face. Just another person who had a brief interlude in the story of your life. You’ll probably never see them again. You probably don’t remember their name. That person is like a ghost, someone who touched your soul for the briefest of moments and then moved on.

Then there are your friends, the people who you see every day, the people who support you every single time they’re near. They make you laugh, and smile. They’re the sunlight to your budding flower, helping you blossom and grow into something beautiful. Despite this, your friends are just friends, not lovers. You don’t look at them as something you want to claim, something you need to have. They’re beautiful in their own ways and you love them, but they are made up of their personalities, their wisdom and their kindness.

You’ll have a friend who means the world to you, one you hold in higher regard than any other person in your life. They’ll be there for you through everything, always at your side. And maybe, just maybe one day you’ll see them for more than their personality and kindness. One day a switch will flick and suddenly it’s like their eyes are galaxies, so beautiful, so incredible you can’t look away for a moment. Their smiles becomes like a warm blanket, comforting you on the coldest of nights.

A stranger, someone who was once a set piece in your life is suddenly the very universe personified.

Listening to Takeshi, feeling his hand against her own, Yuuko felt that switch turn on, that moment where Takeshi went from the best friend she could ever ask for, to someone so beautiful, someone as bright as all the stars in the sky. And she had no idea how she’d never seen that in him before.

Yuuko blushed, looking down at their hands, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, luckily for you, that’s not something you have to worry about.”

Home had always been the ice. The one place in the world she felt safe, the one place she felt she belonged. The ice remained something special to her, something that meant so much more than words could ever do justice. But her home wasn’t lonely anymore. Because she had found home in Takeshi, a man who had stayed by her side since they were children, a man who was quickly stealing her heart.

 


End file.
